Can a smartphone like the Poco F1 capture the Milky Way?
Asked 7/8/2020
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2 answers
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I’ve seen photographers claim they shot the Milky Way with a phone, but some examples look heavily edited. Is it really possible with a smartphone such as the Poco F1? If so, what setup and settings give the best chance of getting a real result?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
2
Yes, it is possible, although the result will likely be mediocre. Why?
- Phone camera's sensors are tiny compared to DX or FX, therefore they are much noisier
- Nice Milky Way pictures are achieved by stacking multiple frames. For that, you need a mount following the rotation of our planet
I had a success imaging Aurora Borealis that is also quite faint. Milky Way is fainter, but I am pretty sure it is doable.
My advice:
- Put your phone on a tripod (a must!)
- Set ISO to the value preceding the maximum one (say 1600 if max ISO is 3200)
- Try to get to a dark place. Light pollution will ruin Milky Way photos
- If you have a wide-angle camera on your phone, use it. This will allow you to shoot a larger Milky Way area and you can bump the exposure time
- Focus on the infinity. Autofocus may not work as expected in dark conditions
- Set shutter speed to 30+ seconds
- Take a picture of Milky Way
- Bump ISO/shutter speed if the noise is acceptable, light pollution is not prominent and you don't see star trails
Update: I tested my wife's new Huawei P40 Pro a couple days ago, here's what I got with ISO 3200 and 30s of exposure. I had no tripod so I used my sweater to tilt the phone. Those are single shots, no stacking:
Good luck!
Originally by user94465. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user94465
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — a smartphone can record the Milky Way, but expectations should be modest. Phone sensors are very small, so images will be noisier and less detailed than those from larger-camera systems.
To get the best result:
- Use a sturdy tripod.
- Shoot from a very dark location; light pollution is a major problem.
- Use the phone’s widest lens, or a clip-on wide-angle lens if available.
- Set focus manually to infinity if possible; autofocus may fail at night.
- Use RAW capture if your phone or app supports it.
- Use a self-timer, voice trigger, or remote method to avoid shake.
- Try a high ISO (often near the top end, such as one step below maximum) and the longest exposure your phone allows without excessive blur.
Many impressive Milky Way images also rely on stacking multiple frames, and some setups use a star tracker to follow Earth’s rotation. That said, even without that, a phone can still capture a recognizable Milky Way under good conditions.
So: yes, it’s real, but the result will be limited compared with a dedicated camera.
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